If the idea is to make the plane set more equal by adding N1Ks and KI84s, why even bother adding token A6M5s at the strength of 4 pilots?
I might suggest replacing the 4 A6Ms with another group of 4 KI61s.
Howdy.
Making it more equal was part of reason for the particular plane set, but I was also desiring, since the large majority of Japanese fighters in this battle were Zeros, to have at least some of them in the battle.
I figured this would not be a problem, because:
-- The Zero is not a horrible plane if it isn't the majority of your fighters and if you have plenty of faster fighters as well. Your faster fighters can get the enemy turning, and a Zero here and there can cause big problems for anything stuck turning. So, a few Zeros in the mix can at times be nice.
-- For many alt ranges, the A6M5 isn't that much slower than the Ki-61.
-- The Japanese have an excess of fighters over the US fighters, so a few Zeros should be OK.
If I fly axis, I will gladly fly a Zero. If on the allied side, I will probably fly a B-25.